Radio frequency (RF) power devices having faraday shield layers therein

ABSTRACT

Integrated power devices include a plurality of field effect transistor unit cells and a Faraday shield layer that reduces parasitic gate-to-drain capacitance (Cgd) and concomitantly improves high frequency switching performance. These power devices may include a field effect transistor in an active portion of a semiconductor substrate and a gate electrode that is electrically connected to a gate of the field effect transistor. A Faraday shield layer is provided between at least a first portion of the gate electrode and a drain of the field effect transistor in order to capacitively decouple the first portion of the gate electrode from the drain. The gate electrode and drain typically extend adjacent opposing faces of the semiconductor substrate. The Faraday shield layer is preferably electrically connected to a source of the field effect transistor and provides edge termination.

REFERENCE TO PRIORITY APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional ApplicationSerial No. 60/249,116, filed Nov. 16, 2000, the disclosure of which ishereby incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates to semiconductor switching devices,and more particularly to switching devices for power switching and poweramplification applications and methods of forming same.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Power MOSFETs have typically been developed for applicationsrequiring power switching and power amplification. For power switchingapplications, the commercially available devices are typically DMOSFETsand UMOSFETs. In these devices, one main objective is obtaining a lowspecific on-resistance to reduce power losses. In a power MOSFET, thegate electrode provides turn-on and turn-off control upon theapplication of an appropriate gate bias. For example, turn-on in anN-type enhancement mode MOSFET occurs when a conductive N-typeinversion-layer channel is formed in the P-type base region (alsoreferred to as “channel region”) in response to the application of apositive gate bias. The inversion-layer channel electrically connectsthe N-type source and drain regions and allows for majority carrierconduction therebetween.

[0004] The power MOSFET's gate electrode is separated from the baseregion by an intervening insulating layer, typically silicon dioxide.Because the gate is insulated from the base region, little if any gatecurrent is required to maintain the MOSFET in a conductive state or toswitch the MOSFET from an on-state to an off-state or vice-versa. Thegate current is kept small during switching because the gate forms acapacitor with the MOSFET's base region. Thus, only charging anddischarging current (“displacement current”) is required duringswitching. Because of the high input impedance associated with theinsulated-gate electrode, minimal current demands are placed on the gateand the gate drive circuitry can be easily implemented. Moreover,because current conduction in the MOSFET occurs through majority carriertransport through an inversion-layer channel, the delay associated withthe recombination and storage of excess minority carriers is notpresent. Accordingly, the switching speed of power MOSFETs can be madeorders of magnitude faster than that of bipolar transistors. Unlikebipolar transistors, power MOSFETs can be designed to withstand highcurrent densities and the application of high voltages for relativelylong durations, without encountering the destructive failure mechanismknown as “second breakdown”. Power-MOSFETs can also be easilyparalleled, because the forward voltage drop across power MOSFETsincreases with increasing temperature, thereby promoting an even currentdistribution in parallel connected devices.

[0005] DMOSFETs and UMOSFETs are more fully described in a textbook byB. J. Baliga entitled Power Semiconductor Devices, PWS Publishing Co.(ISBN 0-534-94098-6) (1995), the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated herein by reference. Chapter 7 of this textbook describespower MOSFETs at pages 335-425. Examples of silicon power MOSFETsincluding accumulation, inversion and extended trench FETs having trenchgate electrodes extending into an N+ drain region are also disclosed inan article by T. Syau, P. Venkatraman and B. J. Baliga, entitledComparison of Ultralow Specific On-Resistance UMOSFET Structures: TheACCUFET, EXTFET, INVFET, and Conventional UMOSFETs, IEEE Transactions onElectron Devices, Vol. 41, No. 5, May (1994). As described by Syau etal., specific on-resistances in the range of 100-250 μΩcm² wereexperimentally demonstrated for devices capable of supporting a maximumof 25 volts. However, the performance of these devices was limited bythe fact that the forward blocking voltage must be supported across thegate oxide at the bottom of the trench. U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,853 to Lidowet al. also discloses a conventional power MOSFET that utilizes a highlydoped N+ region 130 between adjacent P-base regions in order to reduceon-state resistance. For example, FIG. 22 of Lidow et al. discloses ahigh conductivity region 130 having a constant lateral density and agradient from relatively high concentration to relatively lowconcentration beginning from the chip surface beneath the gate oxide andextending down into the body of the chip.

[0006] FIG. 1(d) from the aforementioned Syau et al. article discloses aconventional UMOSFET structure. In the blocking mode of operation, thisUMOSFET supports most of the forward blocking voltage across the N-typedrift layer, which must be doped at relatively low levels to obtain ahigh maximum blocking voltage capability, however low doping levelstypically increase the on-state series resistance. Based on thesecompeting design requirements of high blocking voltage and low on-stateresistance, a fundamental figure-of-merit (FOM) for power devices hasbeen derived which relates specific on-resistance (R_(on, sp)) to themaximum blocking voltage (BV). As explained at page 373 of theaforementioned textbook to B. J. Baliga, the ideal specificon-resistance for an N-type silicon drift region is given by thefollowing relation:

R _(on, sp)=5.93×10⁻⁹ (BV)^(2.5)  (1)

[0007] Thus, for a device with 60 volt blocking capability, the idealspecific on-resistance is 170 μΩcm². However, because of the additionalresistance contribution from the channel, reported specificon-resistances for UMOSFETs are typically much higher. For example, aUMOSFET having a specific on-resistance of 730 μΩcm² is disclosed in anarticle by H. Chang, entitled Numerical and Experimental Comparison of60V Vertical Double-Diffused MOSFETs and MOSFETs With A Trench-GateStructure, Solid-State Electronics, Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 247-251 (1989).However, in this device, a lower-than-ideal uniform doping concentrationin the drift region was required to compensate for the highconcentration of field lines near the bottom corner of the trench whenblocking high forward voltages. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,637,989, 5,742,076 and5,912,497 also disclose popular power semiconductor devices-havingvertical current carrying capability. The disclosures of these patentsare hereby incorporated herein by reference.

[0008] In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,898 to Baliga discloses apreferred silicon field effect transistor which is commonly referred toas a graded-doped (GD) UMOSFET. As illustrated by FIG. 3 from the '898patent, a unit cell 100 of an integrated power semiconductor devicefield effect transistor may have a width “W_(c)” of 1 μm and comprise ahighly doped drain layer 114 of first conductivity type (e.g., N+)substrate, a drift layer 112 of first conductivity type having alinearly graded doping concentration therein, a relatively thin baselayer 116 of second conductivity type (e.g., P-type) and a highly dopedsource layer 118 of first conductivity type (e.g., N+). The drift layer112 may be formed by epitaxially growing an N-type in-situ dopedmonocrystalline silicon layer having a thickness of 4 μm on an N-typedrain layer 114 having a thickness of 100 μm and a doping concentrationof greater than 1×10¹⁸ cm⁻³ (e.g. 1×10¹⁹ cm⁻³) therein. The drift layer112 also has a linearly graded doping concentration therein with amaximum concentration of 3×10¹⁷ cm⁻³ at the N+/N junction with the drainlayer 114, and a minimum concentration of 1×10¹⁶ cm⁻³ beginning at adistance 3 μm from the N+/N junction (i.e., at a depth of 1 μm) andcontinuing at a uniform level to the upper face. The base layer 116 maybe formed by implanting a P-type dopant such as boron into the driftlayer 112 at an energy of 100 kEV and at a dose level of 1×10¹⁴ cm⁻².The P-type dopant may then be diffused to a depth of 0.5 μm into thedrift layer 112. An N-type dopant such as arsenic may also be implantedat an energy of 50 kEV and at dose level of 1×10¹⁵ cm⁻². The N-type andP-type dopants can then be diffused simultaneously to a depth of 0.5 μmand 1.0 μm, respectively, to form a composite semiconductor substratecontaining the drain, drift, base and source layers.

[0009] A stripe-shaped trench having a pair of opposing sidewalls 120 awhich extend in a third dimension (not shown) and a bottom 120 b is thenformed in the substrate. For a unit cell 100 having a width W_(c) of 1μm, the trench is preferably formed to have a width “W_(t)” of 0.5 μm atthe end of processing. An insulated gate electrode, comprising a gateinsulating region 124 and an electrically conductive gate 126 (e.g.,polysilicon), is then formed in the trench. The portion of the gateinsulating region 124 extending adjacent the trench bottom 120 b and thedrift layer 112 may have a thickness “T₁” of about 2000 Å to inhibit theoccurrence of high electric fields at the bottom of the trench and toprovide a substantially uniform potential gradient along the trenchsidewalls 120 a. The portion of the gate insulating region 124 extendingopposite the base layer 116 and the source layer 118 may have athickness “T₂” of about 500 Å to maintain the threshold voltage of thedevice at about 2-3 volts. Simulations of the unit cell 100 at a gatebias of 15 Volts confirm that a vertical silicon field effect transistorhaving a maximum blocking voltage capability of 60 Volts and a specificon-resistance (R_(sp, on)) of 40 μΩcm², which is four (4) times smallerthan the ideal specific on-resistance of 170 μΩcm² for a 60 volt powerUMOSFET, can be achieved. Notwithstanding these excellentcharacteristics, the transistor of FIG. 3 of the '898 patent may sufferfrom a relatively low high-frequency figure-of-merit (HFOM) if theoverall gate-to-drain capacitance (C_(GD)) is too large. Improper edgetermination of the MOSFET may also prevent the maximum blocking voltagefrom being achieved. Additional UMOSFETs having graded drift regions andtrench-based source electrodes are also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,998,833 to Baliga, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference.

[0010] Power MOSFETs may also be used in power amplificationapplications (e.g., audio or rf). In these applications the linearity ofthe transfer characteristic (e.g., I_(d) v. V_(g)) becomes veryimportant in order to minimize signal distortion. Commercially availabledevices that are used in these power amplification applications aretypically the LDMOS and gallium arsenide MESFETs. However, as describedbelow, power MOSFETs including LDMOS transistors, may have non-linearcharacteristics that can lead to signal distortion. The physics ofcurrent saturation in power MOSFETs is described in a textbook by S. M.Sze entitled “Physics of Semiconductor Devices, Section 8.2.2, pages438-451 (1981). As described in this textbook, the MOSFET typicallyworks in one of two modes. At low drain voltages (when compared with thegate voltage), the MOSFET operates in a linear mode where therelationship between I_(d) and V_(g) is substantially linear. Here, thetransconductance (g_(m)) is also independent of V_(g):

g _(m)=(Z/L)u _(ns) C _(ox) V _(d)  (2)

[0011] where Z and L are the channel width and length, respectively,u_(ns) is the channel mobility, C_(ox) is the specific capacitance ofthe gate oxide, and V_(d) is the drain voltage. However, once the drainvoltage increases and becomes comparable to the gate voltage (V_(g)),the MOSFET operates in the saturation mode as a result of channelpinch-off. When this occurs, the expression for transconductance can beexpressed as:

g _(m)=(Z/L)u _(ns) C _(ox)(V _(g) −V _(m))  (3)

[0012] where V_(g) represents the gate voltage and V_(th) represents thethreshold voltage of the MOSFET. Thus, as illustrated by equation (3),during saturation operation, the transconductance increases withincreasing gate bias. This makes the relationship between the draincurrent (on the output side) and the gate voltage (on the input side)non-linear because the drain current increases as the square of the gatevoltage. This non-linearity can lead to signal distortion in poweramplifiers. In addition, once the voltage drop along the channel becomeslarge enough to produce a longitudinal electric field of more than about1×10⁴ V/cm while remaining below the gate voltage, the electrons in thechannel move with reduced differential mobility because of carriervelocity saturation.

[0013] Thus, notwithstanding attempts to develop power MOSFETs for powerswitching and power amplification applications, there continues to be aneed to develop power MOSFETs that can support high voltages and haveimproved electrical characteristics, including highly linear transfercharacteristics when supporting high voltages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Integrated power devices according to first embodiments of thepresent invention utilize Faraday shield layers to improve devicecharacteristics by reducing parasitic capacitance between terminals ofthe device. In particular, integrated power devices, which may comprisea plurality of field effect transistor unit cells therein, utilizeFaraday shield layers to reduce parasitic gate-to-drain capacitance(Cgd) and concomitantly improve high frequency switching performance.Each of these power devices may include a field effect transistor in anactive portion of a semiconductor substrate and a gate electrode that iselectrically connected to a gate of the field effect transistor. AFaraday shield layer is provided between at least a first portion of thegate electrode and a drain of the field effect transistor in order tocapacitively decouple the first portion of the gate electrode from thedrain. The gate electrode and drain typically extend adjacent opposingfaces of the semiconductor substrate. The Faraday shield layer ispreferably electrically connected to a source of the field effecttransistor.

[0015] Power devices according to the first embodiments may also includea plurality of field effect transistor cells disposed side-by-side in anactive portion of a semiconductor substrate. The plurality of fieldeffect transistor cells may include vertical field effect transistorcells that extend between first and second opposing faces of thesemiconductor substrate. A Faraday shield layer is provided that extendson a portion of the first face of the semiconductor substrate that islocated outside a perimeter of the active portion. A gate electrode ofthe device is electrically connected to each gate of the plurality offield effect transistor cells. The Faraday shield layer underlies thegate electrode and separates it from a drain of the power device Thegate electrode also extends outside the perimeter of the active portion(containing the transistor cells) in a manner that substantiallyconfines it to within an outer perimeter of the Faraday shield layer. Inthis manner, the parasitic gate-to-drain capacitance of the power devicecan be reduced by capacitively decoupling at least a majority portion ofthe gate electrode from the drain of the device. A source electrode,which is electrically coupled to each source of the plurality of fieldeffect transistor cells, is also electrically connected to the Faradayshield layer. An intermediate electrically insulating layer is disposedbetween the Faraday shield layer and the gate electrode. The thicknessand material characteristics of the intermediate electrically insulatinglayer influence, among other things, the degree to which the parasiticgate-to-source capacitance of the device is increased by the presence ofthe Faraday shield layer. In particular, the thickness, layout andmaterial characteristics of the intermediate insulating layer arepreferably chosen so that any impairment in switching performance causedby an increase in parasitic gate-to-source capacitance is significantlyoutweighed by the improvement in switching performance achieved byreduced parasitic gate-to-drain capacitance.

[0016] High frequency switching performance is also enhanced byintegrating a gate electrode strip line on the semiconductor substrate.The gate electrode strip line preferably has a first end connected tothe gate electrode and a second end connected to a gate pad of the powerdevice. The gate pad extends outside the active portion of thesemiconductor substrate. The gate electrode strip line is provided toenhance RF switching performance and is patterned to extend opposite theFaraday shield layer, with the intermediate insulating layer extendingtherebetween. To maintain a low parasitic gate-to-drain capacitance, thegate electrode, gate electrode strip line and gate pad are preferablypatterned so that they are at least substantially confined within anouter perimeter of the Faraday shield layer.

[0017] According to other aspects of the preferred power devices, theintermediate electrically insulating layer is designed to provideelectrostatic discharge (ESD) protection. In particular, theintermediate electrically insulating layer is designed so that themaximum breakdown voltage that the intermediate electrically insulatinglayer (or regions therein) can support is less than the maximumbreakdown voltage that the gate insulator (e.g., gate oxide) can supportbetween the gate(s) and channel region(s) of the power device. Toprovide this ESD capability, the intermediate electrically insulatinglayer preferably comprises a plurality of regions of differentelectrically insulating materials having different breakdown voltagecharacteristics. These regions may be spaced side-by-side relative toeach other. In particular, some of the electrically insulating regionswithin the intermediate electrically insulating layer may comprisematerials that can support high breakdown voltages but preferably haverelatively low dielectric constants (to reduce parasitic gate-to-sourcecapacitance). Other insulating regions within the intermediateelectrically insulating layer may comprise materials that can onlysupport relatively low breakdown voltages. The electrically insulatingregions that can support relatively high and relatively low breakdownvoltages will be referred to herein as strong breakdown regions and weakbreakdown regions, respectively. The weak breakdown regions, whichexperience breakdown first in response to excessive voltage spikes thatmay be caused by ESD events, provide an electrical path for ESD currentthat is outside the active portion of the power device. These weakbreakdown regions may comprise zinc oxide (ZnO). According to theseaspects, the gate pad (and/or gate electrode), the weak breakdownregions and the Faraday shield layer collectively form a metal oxidevaristor (MOV). The weak breakdown regions may also comprise intrinsicor P-type polycrystalline silicon.

[0018] Vertical power devices according to second embodiments of thepresent invention utilize discontinuous deep trench regions to improveoperating performance by, among other things, lowering specific on-stateresistance. These vertical power devices include a semiconductorsubstrate having a first surface thereon and a drift region of firstconductivity type (e.g., N-type) therein. For each power device unitcell, a quad arrangement of trenches is provided that extends into thefirst surface of the semiconductor substrate and defines a drift regionmesa that extends between the trenches. A base region of secondconductivity type (e.g., P-type) is also provided that extends into thedrift region mesa and forms a first P-N rectifying junction therewith.Within each base region, a respective source region is provided. Aninsulated electrode is provided in each of the trenches. Thesetrench-based insulated electrodes are electrically connected togetherand to the source region by a source electrode that preferably extendson the first surface. An insulated gate is also provided on the firstsurface. The insulated gate electrode may be a stripe-shaped electrodethat extends on the drift region mesa, and between the trenches.

[0019] The quad arrangement of trenches in each unit cell includes afirst pair of trenches at a front of the unit cell and a second pair oftrenches at a rear of the unit cell, when the device is viewed intransverse cross-section. According to a preferred aspect of thesevertical power devices, the source region extends along the firstsurface in a lengthwise direction from the front to the rear of thedevice without interruption by the base region. This lack ofinterruption of the source region by the base region increases the areaof the on-state current path. Contact between the source electrode andbase region is nonetheless made directly to the base region, whichextends along the first surface in the lengthwise direction from asidewall of a trench in the first pair to a sidewall of an opposingtrench in the second pair. A Faraday shield layer may also be providedthat extends on the first surface and surrounds the quad arrangement oftrenches. A gate electrode strip line (and gate pad) may also beprovided on the Faraday shield layer and an intermediate electricallyinsulating layer may be provided between the Faraday shield layer andthe gate electrode strip line. The intermediate electrically insulatinglayer may be designed to provide electrostatic discharge protection(ESD).

[0020] Additional embodiments of the present invention include packagedpower devices. According to these embodiments, a packaged power deviceincludes a device package having an electrically conductive flangetherein that contains a slot. An electrically conductive substrate ismounted within the slot in the flange and a dielectric layer is providedon the electrically conductive substrate. The electrically conductivesubstrate may comprise a semiconductor substrate. If a gate electrodestrip line is not integrated within the power device in a preferredmanner as described above, the gate electrode strip line may bepatterned on the dielectric layer so that it extends opposite theelectrically conductive substrate. A vertical power MOSFET is alsoprovided within the package and this power MOSFET has a sourceelectrically coupled and mounted to a first portion of the flangelocated outside the slot and a gate electrode electrically coupled andmounted to a first end of the gate electrode strip line. A drainterminal is also mounted to the flange and is electrically coupled to adrain of the vertical power device. A gate terminal is mounted to theflange and is electrically coupled to a second end of the gate electrodestrip line by a gate metal strap. The source of the vertical powerMOSFET is preferably connected to the first portion of the flange by afirst solder bond and the gate electrode is electrically connected tothe first end of the gate electrode strip line by a second solder bond.In this manner, the flange constitutes a source terminal. An LC networkmay be provided by integrating a capacitor on the electricallyconductive substrate along with gate electrode strip line. The capacitormay include a polysilicon capacitor electrode that is electricallyconnected to the gate electrode strip line, with the polysiliconcapacitor electrode, the dielectric layer and the electricallyconductive substrate collectively forming a MOS capacitor.

[0021] Packaged power transistors according to still further embodimentsof the present invention may also include a package with an electricallyconductive flange therein that contains a slot. A ceramic substrate maybe mounted within the slot and a gate electrode strip line may bepatterned on the ceramic substrate. A vertical power MOSFET is alsoprovide within the package and this vertical power MOSFET includes asource that is electrically coupled and mounted to a first portion ofthe flange extending outside the slot. The gate electrode of thevertical power MOSFET is electrically coupled and mounted to a first endof the gate electrode strip line.

[0022] A packaged power transistor may also include a device packagehaving gate and drain terminals and an electrically conductive housingthat operates as a source terminal. An electrically conductive plate maybe mounted to the electrically conductive housing and a ceramicinsulating layer may extend on a surface of the electrically conductiveplate. According to a preferred aspect of this embodiment, a gateelectrode strip line is provided that extends on the ceramic insulatinglayer and opposite the electrically conductive plate. A vertical powerMOSFET is also provided having a source electrode electrically coupledto the electrically conductive plate and a gate electrode electricallycoupled to a first end of the gate electrode strip line. A firstelectrical connector is also mounted at a first end to the drainterminal of the device package and at a second end to a drain electrodeof the vertical power MOSFET. A second electrical connector is alsoprovided. The second electrical connector is mounted to the gateterminal of the device package and to a second end of the gate electrodestrip line.

[0023] Vertical power devices according to still further embodiments ofthe present invention include a semiconductor substrate having a driftregion of first conductivity type therein extending adjacent a firstface thereof. First and second stripe-shaped trenches are provided thatextend in parallel and in a first direction across the semiconductorsubstrate. These trenches are spaced close to each other in order toprovide a high degree of charge coupling to an active portion of thesubstrate. These first and second stripe-shaped trenches are filled withfirst and second insulated source electrodes. First and second baseregions are provided along the length of the first and second trenches.The first and second base regions extend from a sidewall of the firsttrench to an opposing sidewall of the second trench. First and secondsource regions are also provided in the first and second base regions,respectively. An insulated gate electrode is provided on the substrateand this gate electrode extends in a second direction across thesubstrate. The second direction may be orthogonal to the firstdirection, so that during forward on-state conduction, majority carriersprovided by the first and second source regions flow across the firstand second base regions in a direction parallel to the closely spacedfirst and second stripe-shaped trenches.

[0024] Additional power devices may also include a semiconductorsubstrate having a drift region of first conductivity type therein andfirst and second stripe-shaped trenches that extend in the semiconductorsubstrate and define a drift region mesa therebetween. First and secondinsulated source electrodes are also provided in the first and secondstripe-shaped trenches, respectively. In addition, a UMOSFET, comprisinga third trench that is shallower than the first and second stripe-shapedtrenches, is provided in the drift region mesa. This third trenchextends between opposing sidewalls of the first and second stripe-shapedtrenches. This UMOSFET may also comprise a transition region thatdefines rectifying and nonrectifying junctions with the base and driftregions, respectively. Base shielding regions may also be provided.These base shielding regions are preferably self-aligned with theopposing sidewalls of the first and second stripe-shaped trenches.

[0025] Methods of forming vertical power devices may also includeforming first and second deep trenches in a semiconductor substratehaving a drift region of first conductivity type therein. This driftregion extends into a mesa defined between first and second opposingsidewalls of the first and second deep trenches, respectively. A UMOSFETis formed in the mesa, preferably along with first and second baseshielding regions of second conductivity type. These first and secondbase shielding regions extend into the mesa and are self-aligned withthe first and second opposing sidewalls. A step may also be performed toform a transition region of first conductivity type that extends betweenthe drift region and a base region of second conductivity type withinthe UMOSFET.

[0026] In particular, these methods may include implanting base regiondopants of second conductivity type into an active portion of asemiconductor substrate having a drift region of first conductivity typetherein and then forming a first mask having openings therein on theactive portion of the semiconductor substrate. Shielding region dopantsof second conductivity type are then implanted into the active portionof the substrate, using the first mask as an implant mask. A step isthen performed to drive-in the implanted base and shielding regiondopants to define a base region and a plurality of base shieldingregions that extend laterally underneath the first mask and verticallythrough the base region and into the drift region. First and second deeptrenches are then etched into the semiconductor substrate to define adrift region mesa therebetween. This etching step is performed using thefirst mask as an etching mask. First and second insulated sourceelectrodes are then formed in the first and second trenches,respectively. Source region dopants of first conductivity type areimplanted into the drift region mesa. These implanted source regiondopants are driven-in to define a source region in the base region. Ashallow trench is then formed in the drift region mesa. The shallowtrench has a sidewall extending adjacent the base and source regions. Aninsulated gate electrode is formed in the shallow trench and a sourceelectrode is formed that electrically connects the first and secondinsulated source electrodes, the source region and the base regiontogether.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] FIGS. 1A-1F are top down plan views of an integrated verticalpower device at intermediate stages of processing, according topreferred embodiments of the present invention.

[0028]FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the vertical power device ofFIG. 1F, taken along line 2-2′.

[0029]FIG. 3 is a three-dimensional perspective view of a unit cell of avertical power device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

[0030]FIG. 4 is a three-dimensional perspective view of a half unit cellof a vertical power device according to another embodiment of thepresent invention.

[0031]FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a power device according tostill an embodiment of the present invention.

[0032]FIG. 6 is a plan view of a power device having source and gatecontacts on a surface thereof.

[0033]FIG. 7 is a plan view of a supporting substrate according to anembodiment of the present invention.

[0034]FIG. 8 is a side view of a packaged power device that receives thesupporting substrate of FIG. 7, according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

[0035]FIG. 9 is a side view of a packaged power device according to anembodiment of the present invention.

[0036]FIG. 10A is a plan view of a supporting substrate according to anembodiment of the present invention.

[0037]FIG. 10B is a cross-sectional view of the substrate of FIG. 10A,taking along line 10B-10B′.

[0038]FIG. 11A is a plan view of a supporting substrate according to anembodiment of the present invention.

[0039]FIG. 11B is a cross-sectional view of the substrate of FIG. 11A,taking along line 11B-11B′.

[0040]FIG. 12 is a top down plan view of an integrated vertical powerdevice having a gate electrode strip line integrated therein.

[0041]FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the vertical power device ofFIG. 1F, taken along line 2-2′, having an intermediate electricallyinsulating layer that comprises strong breakdown regions and weakbreakdown regions.

[0042] FIGS. 14A-14O are cross-sectional views of intermediatestructures that illustrate methods of forming vertical UMOSFET powerdevices according to embodiments of the present invention.

[0043]FIG. 15A is a simulation illustrating lines of equal potentialwhen the device of FIG. 5 is supporting a reverse voltage.

[0044]FIG. 15B is a simulation illustrating lines of equal potentialwhen the device of FIG. 14O is supporting a reverse voltage.

[0045]FIG. 15C is a simulation illustrating lines of equal potentialwhen a conventional UMOSFET is supporting a reverse voltage.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0046] The present invention will now be described more fullyhereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in whichpreferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may,however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed aslimited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodimentsare provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete andwill fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in theart. In the drawings, the thickness of layers and regions areexaggerated for clarity. It will also be understood that when a layer isreferred to as being “on” another layer or substrate, it can be directlyon the other layer or substrate, or intervening layers may also bepresent. Moreover, the terms “first conductivity type” and “secondconductivity type” refer to opposite conductivity types such as N orP-type, however, each embodiment described and illustrated hereinincludes its complementary embodiment as well. Like numbers refer tolike elements throughout.

[0047] Referring now to FIGS. 1A-1F and 2, methods of forming integratedvertical power devices according to first embodiments of the presentinvention will be described. In particular, FIG. 1A illustrates a topdown plan view of a vertical power device 100 at an early stage offabrication. This power device 100 is defined by an active portion 12 ofa semiconductor substrate 50 and a surrounding electrically insulatinglayer 44 that may be formed as a field oxide isolation layer having athickness of about 500 nm (5000 Å). The power device 100 also includes apreferred Faraday shield layer 10 that extends outside a perimeter ofthe active portion 12 of the substrate 50. The Faraday shield layer 10may be formed as a highly doped polysilicon layer of first conductivitytype (e.g., N+) on an upper surface of the surrounding electricallyinsulating layer 44. Among other things, the Faraday shield layer 10acts as a field plate that provides edge termination to the activeportion 12 of the substrate 50. Within the active portion 12 of thesubstrate 50, a plurality of vertical field effect transistor unit cellsmay be provided side-by-side. In one exemplary embodiment of amulti-celled vertical field effect transistor, the perimeter of theactive portion 12 of the substrate 50 is defined by an outer sidewall 14b of a ladder-shaped trench. Other configurations of vertical powerdevices and unit cells may also be provided, as described more fullyhereinbelow. The inner sidewalls 14 a of the ladder-shaped trench definea plurality of stripe-shaped semiconductor mesas 16 that extend to anupper surface of the substrate 50. These semiconductor mesas 16 definethe forward on-state current path of the vertical power device 100 andeach mesa 16 may be associated with a respective unit cell of the powerdevice 100. Thus, in the vertical power device 100 of FIG. 1A, five (5)unit cells are illustrated. A drift region of first conductivity typealso extends into each of the semiconductor mesas 16. The doping profileof the drift region may be nonuniform (e.g., linear graded) in avertical direction.

[0048] The sidewalls 14 a-14 b and bottom of the ladder-shaped trenchare lined with an electrically insulating layer 18 (e.g., oxide) and atrench-based electrode 20 is provided on the lined sidewalls, asillustrated. The trench-based electrode 20 may comprise highly dopedpolysilicon. The steps to line the sidewalls 14 a-14 b and bottom of thetrench with an electrically insulating layer 18 may be conventional. Forexample, after the ladder-shaped trench is selectively etched into thesubstrate 50, a blanket electrically insulating layer 18 may beconformally deposited on the surface of the mesas and on the exposedbottom and sidewalls of the trench. A blanket polysilicon layer (e.g.,N+ polysilicon) may then be deposited on the substrate 50 and into thetrench. A selective etch back step may then be performed using a mask todefine an insulated ladder-shaped electrode 20 in the trench and aFaraday shield layer 10 extending around a periphery of the activeportion 12 of the substrate 50, as illustrated. The selective etch backstep may also result in the exposure of the semiconductor mesas 16 atthe upper surface of the substrate 50. A blanket intermediateelectrically insulating layer 42 may then be deposited on the Faradayshield layer 10 and on the active portion 12 of the substrate, usingconventional techniques such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Theintermediate electrically insulating layer 42 may comprise a dielectricmaterial selected from the group consisting of silicon dioxide andsilicon nitride, for example. The intermediate electrically insulatinglayer 42 may have a thickness in a range between about 500 nm (5000 Å)and 1000 nm (10,000 Å). As described more fully hereinbelow with respectto FIG. 13, the intermediate electrically insulating layer 42 may bepatterned and comprise materials that enable it to perform anelectrostatic discharge protection (ESD) function.

[0049] As illustrated by FIG. 1B, an etching mask 22 having an openingtherein may be defined on the substrate 50 using conventional maskdeposition and patterning techniques. The opening in the etching mask 22is defined so that the deposited intermediate electrically insulatinglayer 42 covering the mesas 16 may be selectively removed to expose thesurface of the substrate 50 (e.g., upper surfaces of the mesas 16) inthe active portion 12. Referring now to FIG. 1C, steps may be undertakento define a gate oxide insulating layer (not shown) on upper exposedsurfaces of the mesas 16. A layer of highly conductive material (e.g.,N+ polysilicon) may then be deposited and patterned on the gate oxideinsulating layer to define a plurality of parallel stripe-shaped gates24 that extend within the active portion 12 of the substrate 50. Each ofthese gates 24 is associated with a respective unit cell and extendslengthwise across a respective stripe-shaped mesa 16. The opposite endsof the gates 24, which extend to the edges of the active portion 12 ofthe substrate 50, are electrically connected together by a gateelectrode 30 that extends on the intermediate electrically insulatinglayer 42. According to preferred aspects of these first embodiments, thegate electrode 30 is patterned so that it extends outside the perimeterof the active portion 12 in a manner that at least substantiallyconfines it to within an outer perimeter of the underlying Faradayshield layer 10. Base region dopants of second conductivity type (e.g.,P-type) are then implanted into the mesas 16, using the stripe-shapegates 24 as a self-aligned base region implant mask. A thermal annealingstep may then be performed to partially drive-in the implanted baseregion dopants.

[0050] As illustrated by FIG. 1D, a source implant mask 26 is thenpatterned on the substrate 50. This is followed by the step ofimplanting source region dopants of first conductivity type into theexposed portions of the mesas 16, using the gates 24 again as aself-aligned source region implant mask. A second thermal annealing stepmay then be performed to drive-in the implanted base and source regiondopants and thereby define base and source regions within each mesa 16.The space between the pair of openings in the source implant mask 26 isprovided to define the locations of the ohmic contacts between the baseregions and a subsequently formed source electrode 36.

[0051] Referring now to FIG. 1E, at least one blanket electricallyinsulating passivation layer (not shown) is then formed on the substrate50. Separate photolithographically defined masking steps may then beperformed to define a plurality of source electrode contact openings 34a, 34 b and 34 c and a plurality of gate electrode contact openings 32 aand 32 b in the at least one passivation layer. A blanket layer ofmetallization may then be deposited on the substrate 50 and patterned todefine a source electrode 36 and gate electrode contact 38. Thepatterned source electrode 36 extends into each of the source electrodecontact openings 34 a, 34 b and 34 c and electrically connects thesource and base regions within each unit cell together and to thetrench-based electrode 20 and the. Faraday shield layer 10. Thepatterned gate electrode contact 38 extends into each of the gateelectrode contact openings 32 a and 32 b and ohmically contacts the gateelectrode 30.

[0052] The Faraday shield layer 10, which is held at the potential ofthe source electrode 36, operates to improve the high frequencyswitching performance of the device 100 by reducing the device'sparasitic gate-to-drain capacitance (Cgd). As illustrated by FIGS. 1A-1Fand 2, the Faraday shield layer 10 is provided between at least a firstportion of the gate electrode 30 and a drain of the device 100, whichtypically extends adjacent a bottom surface of the substrate 50. It ispreferred that the entire gate electrode 30 be at least substantiallyconfined within an outer perimeter of the Faraday shield layer 10. TheFaraday shield layer 10 operates to capacitively decouple at least thefirst portion of the gate electrode 30 from the drain. The thickness andmaterial characteristics of the intermediate electrically insulatinglayer 42 influence the degree to which the parasitic gate-to-sourcecapacitance of the device 100 is increased by the presence of theFaraday shield layer 10. Preferably, the thickness, layout and materialcharacteristics of the intermediate insulating layer 42 are chosen sothat any impairment in switching performance caused by an increase inparasitic gate-to-source capacitance is significantly outweighed by theimprovement in switching performance achieved by the reduced parasiticgate-to-drain capacitance. An intermediate insulating layer 42 that isrelatively thick and has a low dielectric constant can be usedadvantageously to reduce the parasitic gate-to-source capacitance. It isalso preferred that the gate electrode 30 be sufficiently confinedwithin the outer perimeter of the Faraday shield layer 10 that the totalgate-to-drain capacitance (Cgd), including the capacitance attributed tothe gates 24 within the active portion 12, be less than about 0.1 timesa gate-to-drain capacitance of an otherwise equivalent integrated powerdevice that omits the Faraday shield layer 10 and the intermediateelectrically insulating 42 layer from between the gate electrode 30 andthe underlying electrically insulating layer 44.

[0053] The vertical power device 100 of FIGS. 1A-1F may also utilize aplurality of unit cells within each mesa 16, with each mesa having anonuniform width along its length and being defined on opposing sides bya plurality of discontinuous deep trenches. The use of discontinuousdeep trench regions improves operating performance by, among otherthings, lowering specific on-state resistance (Rsp). Each of these unitcells may include a quad arrangement of trenches, as illustrated by FIG.3. This quad arrangement of trenches extends to a uppermost surface ofthe semiconductor substrate 50 and defines a drift region mesa 16therebetween (having a width “Wm” when viewed in transversecross-section). A drain region 55 of first conductivity type (shown asN+) and drain electrode 60 are also provided adjacent a lowermostsurface of the substrate 50. Base regions 80 of second conductivity type(e.g., P-type) are also provided that extend into the drift region mesa16. Within each base region 80, a respective source region 70 (shown asN+) is provided. An insulated electrode 20 is provided in each of thetrenches and the bottom and sidewalls of each trench are lined with arespective electrically insulating layer 18. These trench-basedinsulated electrodes 20 are electrically connected together and to eachsource region (and base region 80) by a source electrode 36 thatpreferably extends on the uppermost surface. An insulated gate 24 isalso provided as a stripe-shaped conductive layer that extendslengthwise along the length of each drift region mesa 16 and linkstogether multiple unit cells. The quad arrangement of trenches in eachunit cell includes a first pair of trenches (left side and right side)at a front of the unit cell and a second pair of opposing trenches at arear of the unit cell, when the device is viewed in transversecross-section.

[0054] According to a preferred aspect of the illustrated unit cell,each source region 70 extends along the uppermost surface in alengthwise direction from one end of a mesa to another end withoutinterruption by the base region 80. Thus, during fabrication, the sourceimplant mask 26 illustrated by FIG. 1D need not be defined to provideone or more openings that allow for direct surface contact between thebase region 80 and the surface source electrode 36. This lack ofinterruption of the source region 70 by the base region 80 in thelengthwise direction increases the area of the on-state current path bymaximizing a width of each inversion-layer channel associated with eachbase region in each unit cell during forward on-state conduction. Ohmiccontact between the source electrode 36 and base region 80 isnonetheless made directly to the base region 80, which, as illustratedby FIG. 3, extends along the uppermost surface in the lengthwisedirection from a rear sidewall of a trench in the front pair of trenchesto an opposing sidewall of a trench in the rear pair of trenches. AFaraday shield layer 10 may also be provided that extends around anintegrated vertical power device containing a plurality of the preferredunit cells illustrated by FIG. 3.

[0055] Referring now to FIG. 4, a perspective view of a half unit cellof a vertical power device according to another embodiment of thepresent invention includes a trench-based electrode 20 that extends in afirst lengthwise direction across a semiconductor substrate 50. Thetrench-based electrode 20 is insulated from a drift region mesa 16 offirst conductivity type by an electrically insulating layer 18 thatlines the sidewalls and bottom of each trench. The width of the driftregion mesa 16 in the illustrated half unit cell is “½W_(m)”. Each ofthe source regions 70 and base regions 80 extend laterally across awidth of a respective drift region mesa 16, from a sidewall of onetrench (left side) to a sidewall of an adjacent trench (right side, notshown). A plurality of base regions 80 are also provided along thelength of each mesa 16 and are spaced side-by-side, as illustrated.Transition regions 65 of first conductivity type are also providedbetween adjacent base regions 80. The design, operation and advantagesof using transition regions 65 are more fully described in U.S.application Ser. No. 09/833,132 to Baliga, entitled “Power SemiconductorDevices Having Retrograded-Doped Transition Regions that EnhanceBreakdown Voltage Characteristics and Methods of Forming Same,” filedApr. 11, 2001, assigned to the present assignee, the disclosure of whichis hereby incorporated herein by reference. The insulated gateelectrodes 24 are also provided as stripe-shaped electrodes thatpreferably extend in a second direction across the substrate 50. Asillustrated, the first direction may be orthogonal to the seconddirection. As illustrated by the arrows extending laterally andvertically across each transition region 65, during forward on-stateconduction, majority carriers (e.g., electrons) initially flow laterallyin the first direction parallel to the sidewalls of each trench. Thislateral current flow occurs through a respective inversion-layer channelthat extends across each base region 80. Like the device of FIG. 3,contact may be made directly between the source electrode 36 and eachbase region 80 within the device of FIG. 4, without interrupting theforward on-state current path by interrupting the source regions 70 thatprovide majority carriers during forward on-state conduction. The unitcell of FIG. 4 may also be advantageous from a fabrication standpointbecause no critical alignment step is required when patterning theinsulated gate electrodes 24 relative to the trenches to insure thateach gate electrode 24 is centered about a respective drift region mesa16. The device of FIG. 4 also allows for the formation of narrower driftregion mesas 16 (i.e., smaller “W_(m)”) between adjacent trenches,because each lateral on-state current path extends along the length ofadjacent trenches instead of laterally across the width of a respectivedrift region mesa 16. This reduction in the widths of the drift regionmesas 16 may improve device characteristics by increasing the degree ofcharge coupling between the trench-based electrodes 20 and the driftregion mesas 16.

[0056]FIG. 5 is a transverse cross-sectional view of a unit cell of avertical power device (i.e., UMOSFET) that utilizes a relatively shallowtrench-based insulated gate electrode 24 a and relatively deeptrench-based insulated electrodes 20 to provide high degrees of chargecoupling to those portions of the drift region mesa 16 (having widthW_(m)) that extend between adjacent deep trenches. Each gate electrode24 a is separated from a respective drift region mesa 16 by a gateinsulating layer 25. The drift region mesa 16 may be nonuniformly doped(e.g., linear graded). The electrodes 20 within each of the deeptrenches are separated from the drift region mesa 16 by an electricallyinsulating layer 18. Control of forward on-state current to a center ofthe drift region mesa 16 is provided by the trench-based insulated gateelectrode 24 a. In particular, application of a gate bias of sufficientmagnitude to the insulated gate electrode 24 a will cause the formationof a vertical inversion-layer channel within each base region 80. Asillustrated by the arrows, majority carriers (e.g., electrons) areprovided from the source regions 70 to the drift region mesa 16 duringforward on-state conduction. The majority carriers are provided byinversion-layer channels that extend along the opposite sidewalls of therelatively shallow central trench. This gate bias may also reduceforward on-state resistance by causing the formation of a highlyconductive accumulation layer (not shown) at the bottom and lowersidewalls of the relatively shallow trench.

[0057] In addition to each of the above-described power deviceembodiments that may utilize Faraday shield layers to reduce parasiticgate-to-drain capacitance, additional vertical power device embodimentsmay also incorporate one or more aspects of the preferred embodimentsdescribed herein. Such additional vertical power device embodimentsinclude those described in U.S. application Ser. No. 09/602,414 toBaliga, entitled “MOSFET Devices Having Linear Transfer CharacteristicsWhen Operating in Velocity Saturation Mode,” filed Jun. 23, 2000,assigned to the present assignee, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated herein by reference. Still further power device embodimentsare also described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,998,833 and 6,191,447 to Baliga,the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

[0058] As illustrated by FIGS. 6-8, vertical power devices, includingthose described above, may be packaged and utilized as RF power MOSFETsusing preferred packaging sub-assemblies as described herein. Inparticular, FIG. 6 is a plan view of a silicon chip 200 containing atleast one vertical power device according to an embodiment of thepresent invention or conventional design. The illustrated vertical powerdevice includes a gate electrode contact 202 and a source electrode 204.An opposite side of the silicon chip 200 may include a drain electrode222. FIG. 7 is a plan view of a supporting substrate 206 to which thesilicon chip 200 of FIG. 6 can be mounted when the power device is usedin an RF power application. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of apackaged device that includes the vertical power device of FIG. 6 andthe supporting substrate 206 of FIG. 7, according to an embodiment ofthe present invention. As illustrated by these figures, the packageddevice includes a supporting substrate 206. The supporting substrate 206comprises an electrically conductive plate 210 (e.g., copper plate) anda ceramic insulating layer 216 attached to an upper surface of theelectrically conductive plate 210. A gate electrode strip line 214 isalso provided on the ceramic insulating layer 216 so that a distributedR-C network can be provided at an input of the power device. Sourcecontact metallization 212 (e.g., die attach metal) may also be providedon the electrically conductive plate 210. As illustrated by FIG. 8, asource solder bond 218 provides a direct electrical and mechanicalconnection between the source contact metallization 212 and the sourceelectrode 204 of the power device. The source solder bond 218 should beappropriately sized to provide a sufficient heat sink to the sourceelectrode 204 of the power device. A gate solder bond 220 provides adirect electrical and mechanical connection between one end of the gateelectrode strip line 214 and the gate electrode contact 202 of the powerdevice. The properties of the distributed R-C network can be designed bychoosing the shape of the gate strip line 214 and the dielectricproperties of the ceramic or other dielectric insulating layer 216 toachieve a desired impedance transformation suitable for RF applications.The use of a gate electrode strip line 214 eliminates the need for alarge number of wire bonds and improves the precision of the inputmatching network because the shape of the gate stripe line metal can beaccurately controlled using conventional thin film technology. The widthof the gate electrode strip line 214 is also preferably less than about0.2 times a width of the ceramic insulating layer 216 when viewed intransverse cross-section. A ratio of the width of the gate electrodestrip line 214 to the thickness of the dielectric insulating layer 216may be set at a range from between about 2 (for dielectrics having anε_(r) of about 10) and 4 (for dielectrics having an ε_(r) of about 4).

[0059] As further illustrated by FIG. 8, the device package alsoincludes a gate terminal 228, a drain terminal 230 and an electricallyconductive flange 232 that operates as a source terminal. Theelectrically conductive plate 210 is mounted (e.g., soldered) to theelectrically conductive flange 232. A first electrical connector 224 isalso mounted between the drain terminal 230 of the device package andthe drain electrode 222 of the power device. This first electricalconnector 224 may comprise a wire bond or metal plate, for example. Asecond electrical connector 226 is also mounted between the gateterminal 228 of the device package and a second end of the gateelectrode strip line 214. Based on this arrangement of connectingelements, preferred RF matching and impedance transformationcharacteristics can be achieved and heat generated within the body ofthe power device may be efficiently removed through the mechanical andelectrical connection provided between the source electrode 204, sourcesolder bond 218, source contact metallization 212 and conductive plate210. The solder bond may comprise gold (Au) or other bonding materialsuitable for RF applications.

[0060] Packaged power devices according to still further embodiments ofthe present invention are illustrated by FIGS. 9, 10A-10B and 11A-11B.In particular, FIG. 9 illustrates a packaged power device that issimilar to the packaged power device of FIG. 8, however, an electricallyconductive flange 232 is provided having at least one slot 234 therein.Additional slots may also be provided for receiving additional matchingcomponents (e.g., output matching circuitry). A preferred supportingsubstrate 330 is provided in the slot 234. Preferred supportingsubstrates 330 (shown as 330A and 330B in FIGS. 10A-10B and 11A-11B) aresimilar to the supporting substrate 206 of FIG. 8. The supportingsubstrate 330A of FIGS. 10A-10B includes an electrically conductivesubstrate 304 (e.g, N+ silicon substrate, copper plate) that ismechanically and electrically connected to a bottom of the slot 234 by alayer of contact metallization 308. A dielectric layer 306 is providedon the electrically conductive substrate 304. In another embodiment, thedielectric layer 306 and electrically conductive substrate 304 may takethe form of a ceramic substrate. A gate electrode strip line 300 a isalso patterned on the dielectric layer 306. The gate electrode stripline 300 a preferably comprises a highly conductive material, such asgold (Au). As illustrated best by FIG. 9, a first end of the gateelectrode strip line 300 a is electrically and mechanically connected toa gate electrode contact 202 by a gate solder bond 220 and a second endof the gate electrode strip line 300 a is electrically connected to asecond electrical connector 226. An electrically insulating passivationlayer 302 is also provided on the gate electrode strip line 300 a. Theelectrically insulating passivation layer 302 has openings therein thatexpose the ends of the gate electrode strip line 300 a. The supportingsubstrate 330B of FIGS. 11A-11B is similar to the supporting substrate330A of FIGS. 10A-10B, however, the gate electrode strip line includesfirst and second strip line segments 300 b and 300 c that are joined bya capacitor. This capacitor may be a MOS capacitor and may comprise afirst conductive layer 314 (e.g., polysilicon), an insulating layer 316(e.g., oxide) and an underlying conductive layer that is defined by theelectrically conductive substrate 304.

[0061] The device embodiments illustrated by FIGS. 1A-1F and 2 may alsointegrate impedance transformation of the same chip as the power deviceto achieve preferred impedance matching when packaged and used in an RFapplication. In particular, FIG. 12 illustrates a power device 100′ atan intermediate stage of fabrication that is similar to the device ofFIG. 1C. However, in contrast to the device of FIG. 1C, a gate electrodestrip line 65 is provided on the Faraday shield layer 10 and isseparated therefrom by the intermediate electrically insulating layer42. The gate electrode strip line 65 has first and second opposing endsthat are electrically connected to the gate electrode 30 and gate pad68, as illustrated.

[0062] According to other aspects of the preferred power devices, theintermediate electrically insulating layer 42 may be designed to provideelectrostatic discharge (ESD) protection. In particular, theintermediate electrically insulating layer 42 may be designed so thatthe maximum breakdown voltage that the intermediate electricallyinsulating layer 42 (or regions therein) can support is less than themaximum breakdown voltage that the gate insulator (e.g., gate oxide) cansupport between the gate(s) 24 and base region of the power device 100.To provide this ESD capability, the intermediate electrically insulatinglayer 42 preferably comprises a plurality of regions 42 a and 42 b ofdifferent electrically insulating materials having different breakdownvoltage characteristics. These regions 42 a and 42 b may be spacedside-by-side relative to each other. In particular, some of theelectrically insulating regions 42 a within the intermediateelectrically insulating layer 42 may comprise materials that can supporthigh breakdown voltages but preferably have relatively low dielectricconstants (to reduce parasitic gate-to-source capacitance) and otherinsulating regions 42 b within the intermediate electrically insulatinglayer 42 may comprise materials that can only support relatively lowbreakdown voltages (compared to the maximum breakdown voltage of thegate insulator). The electrically insulating regions that can supportrelatively high and relatively low breakdown voltages will be referredto herein as strong breakdown regions and weak breakdown regions,respectively. The weak breakdown regions 42 b, which experiencebreakdown first in response to excessive voltage spikes that may becaused by ESD events, provide an electrical path for ESD current that isoutside the active portion 12 of the power device 100. These weakbreakdown regions 42 b may comprise zinc oxide (ZnO). According to theseaspects, the gate electrode (and/or gate pad), the weak breakdownregions 42 b and the Faraday shield layer 10 collectively form a metaloxide varistor (MOV). The weak breakdown regions 42 b may also compriseintrinsic or P-type polycrystalline silicon.

[0063] Referring now to FIGS. 14A-14O, preferred methods of formingvertical power devices 400 (e.g., UMOSFETs) according to additionalembodiments of the present invention will be described. As illustratedby FIG. 14A, these methods may include forming a base region of secondconductivity type in an active portion of a semiconductor substrate 402by implanting base region dopants 410 a of second conductivity type(e.g., P-type) into an upper surface of the substrate 402 to define apreliminary base region 410 b therein. This implant step may beperformed using a first mask (not shown) having an opening therein thatexposes the active portion of the substrate 402. A field oxide isolationregion having an opening therein that defines the active portion of thesubstrate 402 may be used as the first mask. The base region dopants 410a may be implanted at an energy level of about 50 keV and at a doselevel of about 5×10¹³ cm⁻². As illustrated, the substrate 402 maycomprise a drift region of first conductivity 404 (shown as N) on a morehighly doped substrate layer 406 (shown as N+) that comprises a drainregion of the vertical power device 400. The drift region 404 may beformed by epitaxially growing an in-situ doped monocrystalline siliconlayer on a highly doped silicon wafer. The drift region 404 may beformed as a uniformly or nonuniformly doped epitaxial layer. Forexample, the drift region 404 may have a linearly graded doping profile,as described more fully in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,637,898 and 5,998,833 toBaliga and in the aforementioned '414 application (see, e.g., FIG. 3). Asecond masking layer may then be deposited and patterned on the uppersurface to define a second mask 408 having a plurality of openingstherein. Referring now to FIG. 14B, base shielding region dopants 412 aof second conductivity type are then preferably implanted into the driftregion 404, using the second mask 408 as an implant mask. This implantstep, which is optional, may be performed at an implant energy of about100 keV and at a dose level of about 1×10¹⁴ cm⁻². Based on this sequenceof steps, a plurality of preliminary base shielding regions 412 b aredefined within the drift region 404 and the lateral edges of theseregions are self-aligned to the lateral edges of the second mask 408.Because of the higher implant energy, the preliminary base shieldingregions 412 b are formed deeper than the preliminary base region 410 b.

[0064] Referring now to FIG. 14C, an annealing step may then beperformed to at least partially drive-in the implanted dopants (410 aand 412 a) vertically and laterally. This annealing step results in thedefinition of a blanket base region 414 (shown as P) adjacent the uppersurface of the substrate 402 and a plurality of more highly doped baseshielding regions 416 (shown as P+) that are self-aligned to theopenings in the second mask 408. This annealing step may be performedfor a duration of about 60 minutes and at a temperature of about 1000°C. A selective etching step is then performed to define a plurality ofdeep trenches 418 having opposing sidewalls 418 a and bottoms 418 b, asillustrated by FIG. 14D. The deep trenches may have a depth of about 5microns. The deep trenches 418 define a plurality of drift region mesas404 a therebetween. These drift region mesas 404 a may have a width ofabout 2 microns. These trenches 418 may be striped-shaped and extendlengthwise in parallel in a third dimension (not shown). These trenches418 may be formed by etching the substrate 402, using the second mask408 as an etching mask. Based on this sequence of steps, the baseshielding regions 416 are self-aligned with the sidewalls 418 a of thetrenches 418 because both the base shielding regions 416 and sidewalls418 a are self-aligned to the sidewalls of the second mask 408.Referring now to FIG. 14E, a blanket electrically insulating layer 420is then conformally deposited onto the substrate 402, as illustrated.This blanket electrically insulating layer 420 may comprise a silicondioxide layer having a thickness of about 350 nm (3500 Å). A blanketelectrically conductive layer 422 a may then be deposited on the blanketelectrically insulating layer 420, as illustrated by FIG. 14F. Thisblanket electrically conductive layer 422 a may comprise a highly dopedpolysilicon layer (e.g., N+ polysilicon) having a thickness of about1500 nm (15,000 Å).

[0065] Referring now to FIG. 14G, a planarization step may then beperformed to etch-back the blanket electrically conductive layer 422 ainto the trenches 418 and thereby define a plurality of electrodes 422.Next, the blanket electrically insulating layer 420 is etched back toreveal upper surfaces of each of the drift region mesas 404 a, asillustrated by FIG. 14H. Then, source region dopants 424 a of firstconductivity type (e.g., N-type) are implanted into the upper surface ofthe substrate 402. These source region dopants 424 a may be implanted atan energy level of about 50 keV and at a dose level of about 1×10¹⁶cm⁻². An annealing step may then be performed to drive-in the implantedsource region dopants 424 a (and further drive-in the base and baseshielding region dopants) and thereby define a respective source region424 adjacent an upper surface of each of the drift region mesas 404 a.The annealing step may be performed at a temperature of about 900° C.and for a duration of about 10 minutes.

[0066] A third masking layer (not shown) is then deposited on thesubstrate 402 and patterned to define a plurality of openings therein.These openings may be stripe-shaped openings that are each centeredabout a middle of each of the drift region mesas 404. An etching stepmay then be performed to define a relatively shallow striped-shapedtrench 426 in each of the drift region mesas 404 a, as illustrated byFIG. 14I. These shallow trenches 426 may have a depth of about 1 micronand a width of about 1 micron. Referring now to FIGS. 14J-L, a thermaloxidation step may then be performed to define a gate oxide insulatinglayer 428 that extends on the sidewalls and bottoms of the shallowtrenches 426 and on the upper surfaces of the drift region mesas 404 a.The gate oxide insulating layer 428 may have a thickness of about 50 nm(500 Å). Another blanket electrically conductive layer 430 a is thenconformally deposited on the substrate 402. The blanket electricallyconductive layer 430 a may comprise highly doped polysilicon orpolycide, for example. A fourth masking layer (not shown) is thendeposited and patterned on the blanket electrically conductive layer 430a. The patterned fourth masking layer is then used as an etching mask toselectively pattern the blanket electrically conductive layer 430 a intoa plurality of T-shaped gate electrodes 430 that extend onto uppersurfaces of the drift region mesas 404 a. A planarization step need notbe performed to etch back the blanket electrically conductive layer 430a until each of the gate electrodes 430 is recessed within respectiveshallow trenches 426. Advantages achieved by using T-shaped gateelectrodes are more fully described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,303,410 toBaliga, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein byreference. A passivation layer 432 a is then formed on the substrate402, as illustrated by FIG. 14M. This passivation layer 432 a maycomprise a CVD oxide layer having a thickness of about 500 nm (5000 Å).

[0067] Referring now to FIG. 14N, a fifth masking layer (not shown) isthen deposited and patterned. This fifth masking layer is then used asan etching mask during a step of selectively etching the passivationlayer 432 a to define a plurality of insulated gate electrodes 438 thatcomprise insulating capping layers 432. The duration of the selectiveetching step is preferably sufficient to define recesses 440 within eachof the insulating layers 420. As illustrated, these recesses 440 exposethe source regions 424 and base regions 414 along the sidewalls 418 a.Referring now to FIG. 14O, conventional metallization steps may then beperformed to deposit and pattern a source electrode 434 on an uppersurface of the substrate 402 and deposit a drain electrode 436 on alower surface of the substrate 402. The source electrode 434 ispreferably patterned to define ohmic contacts with the source regions424 and base regions 414 along the sidewalls 418 a and with theelectrodes 422 in the deep trenches. As further illustrated by FIG. 14O,a relatively highly doped transition region 442 of first conductivitytype may be provided between each of the base regions 414 and arespective drift region mesa 404 a. As described more fully in theaforementioned '414 application to Baliga and illustrated by FIG. 3therein, the transition region 442 may have a relatively high N-typedoping concentration therein of about 1×10¹⁷ cm⁻³. The relatively highlydoped transition regions 442 improve performance by enabling eachinversion-layer channel formed in a respective base region 414 duringforward on-state conduction to be operated in a linear mode (withoutchannel pinch-off or velocity saturation) while the drift region 404 issimultaneously operated in a velocity saturation mode. The dopingconcentration in the transition regions 438 is preferably set at a levelsufficient to enable forward on-state conduction through theinversion-layer channels at low drain voltages and to maintain theinversion-layer channels in a linear mode of operation as the drainvoltage is increased. The highly doped base shielding regions 416 alsooperate to shield respective base regions 414 by significantlysuppressing P-base reach-through effects when the power device 400 isblocking reverse voltages and by causing reverse current to flow throughthe shielding regions 416 instead of the base regions 414.

[0068] Referring now to FIG. 15A, a two-dimensional simulation of thedevice of FIG. 5 illustrates lines of equal potential when the device issupporting a high reverse voltage. In FIG. 15A, the equal potential linerepresenting the lowest potential extends slightly above a bottom of theshallow trench in which the insulated gate electrode is formed, but doesnot extend into the P-base region because of the high degree of chargecoupling between the drift region mesa and the trench-based insulatedsource electrodes. By preventing the equal potential lines fromextending into the P-base region, P-base reach through effects can besuppressed. A two-dimensional simulation of the device of FIG. 14Oreveals improved blocking voltage performance vis-a-vis the device ofFIG. 5. For example, FIG. 15B illustrates lines of equal potential whenthe device of FIG. 14O is supporting a high reverse voltage. In FIG.15B, the equal potential line representing the lowest potential extendswell below a bottom of the shallow trench in which the insulated gateelectrode is formed. This shape of the equal potential line of lowestpotential suppresses P-base reach through to a high degree and alsoreduces field crowding at the corners of the shallow trench. Asillustrated by FIG. 15C, which shows lines of equal potential when aconventional UMOSFET is supporting a high reverse voltage, fieldcrowding can be excessive if the equal potential lines representing thelower potentials extend above a bottom of a trench in which the gateelectrode is formed. Moreover, the extension of the lines of equalpotential into the P-base region illustrate a vulnerability to P-basereach through.

[0069] In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosedtypical preferred embodiments of the invention and, although specificterms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive senseonly and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the inventionbeing set forth in the following claims.

That which is claimed is:
 1. An integrated power device, comprising: aplurality of field effect transistor cells in an active portion of asemiconductor substrate; a Faraday shield layer extending on a portionof the semiconductor substrate that is located outside a perimeter ofthe active portion; a gate electrode that is electrically connected toeach gate of said plurality of field effect transistor cells and extendsoutside the perimeter of the active portion in a manner thatsubstantially confines it to within an outer perimeter of said Faradayshield layer; an intermediate electrically insulating layer disposedbetween said Faraday shield layer and said gate electrode; and a sourceelectrode that is electrically coupled to each source of said pluralityof field effect transistor cells and to said Faraday shield layer. 2.The device of claim 1, wherein said plurality of field effect transistorcells comprise vertical field effect transistor cells that extendbetween first and second opposing faces of the semiconductor substrate;and wherein said Faraday shield layer extends opposite the first faceand is separated therefrom by an underlying electrically insulatinglayer.
 3. The device of claim 2, wherein said plurality of field effecttransistor cells comprise a drain region extending adjacent the secondface of the semiconductor substrate.
 4. The device of claim 1, furthercomprising a gate electrode strip line that is electrically connected tosaid gate electrode and is at least substantially confined to within theouter perimeter of said Faraday shield layer.
 5. The device of claim 3,further comprising an underlying electrically insulating layer extendingbetween said Faraday shield layer and the semiconductor substrate; andwherein said gate electrode is sufficiently confined within the outerperimeter of said Faraday shield layer that a capacitance between saidgate electrode and the drain region is less than about 0.1 times acapacitance between a gate electrode and drain of an otherwiseequivalent integrated power device that omits said Faraday shield layerand said intermediate electrically insulating layer from between saidgate electrode and said underlying electrically insulating layer.
 6. Thedevice of claim 1, further comprising an underlying electricallyinsulating layer extending between said Faraday shield layer and thesemiconductor substrate; and wherein said gate electrode is sufficientlyconfined within the outer perimeter of said Faraday shield layer that acapacitance between said gate electrode and the drain region is lessthan about 0.1 times a capacitance between a gate electrode and drain ofan otherwise equivalent integrated power device that omits said Faradayshield layer and said intermediate electrically insulating layer frombetween said gate electrode and said underlying electrically insulatinglayer.
 7. The device of claim 1, further comprising: a gate electrodestrip line that is confined within the outer perimeter of said Faradayshield layer and has a first end electrically connected to said gateelectrode; and a gate pad that is electrically connected to a second endof said gate electrode strip line.
 8. An RF power device, comprising: afield effect transistor in an active portion of a semiconductorsubstrate; a Faraday shield layer extending on a portion of thesemiconductor substrate that is located outside a perimeter of theactive portion; a gate electrode that is electrically connected to agate of said field effect transistor and extends outside the perimeterof the active portion in a manner that substantially confines it towithin an outer perimeter of said Faraday shield layer; a gate electrodestrip line that is electrically connected at a first end to said gateelectrode and is substantially confined within the outer perimeter ofsaid Faraday shield layer; an intermediate electrically insulating layerdisposed between said Faraday shield layer and said gate electrode; anda source electrode that is electrically coupled to a source of saidfield effect transistor and to said Faraday shield layer.
 9. The deviceof claim 8, wherein said intermediate electrically insulating layerextends between said Faraday shield layer and said gate electrode stripline.
 10. The device of claim 9, further comprising a gate padelectrically connected to a second end of said gate electrode stripline; and wherein said intermediate electrically insulating layerextends between said gate pad and said Faraday shield layer.
 11. Thedevice of claim 8, further comprising an underlying electricallyinsulating layer extending between said Faraday shield layer and thesemiconductor substrate.
 12. An RF power device, comprising: a fieldeffect transistor in an active portion of a semiconductor substrate; agate electrode that is electrically connected to a gate of said fieldeffect transistor and extends outside a perimeter of the active portionof the semiconductor substrate; a Faraday shield layer on thesemiconductor substrate; a gate electrode strip line that iselectrically connected at a first end to said gate electrode and issubstantially confined within an outer perimeter of said Faraday shieldlayer; an intermediate electrically insulating layer disposed betweensaid Faraday shield layer and said gate electrode strip line; and asource electrode that is electrically coupled to a source of said fieldeffect transistor and to said Faraday shield layer.
 13. The device ofclaim 12, further comprising a gate pad electrically connected to asecond end of said gate electrode strip line; and wherein saidintermediate electrically insulating layer extends between said gate padand said Faraday shield layer.
 14. The device of claim 12, furthercomprising an underlying electrically insulating layer extending betweensaid Faraday shield layer and the semiconductor substrate.
 15. Asemiconductor-switching device, comprising: a vertical field effecttransistor in an active portion of a semiconductor substrate; a gateelectrode that is electrically connected to a gate of said field effecttransistor; and a Faraday shield layer extending between at least aportion of said gate electrode and a drain of said field effecttransistor.
 16. The device of claim 15, wherein said Faraday shieldlayer is electrically connected to a source of said vertical fieldeffect transistor.
 17. The device of claim 16, further comprising a gateelectrode strip line that extends on the semiconductor substrate and iselectrically connected at a first end to said gate electrode.
 18. Thedevice of claim 17, wherein said Faraday shield layer extends betweensaid gate electrode strip line and the drain of said vertical fieldeffect transistor.
 19. The device of claim 16, wherein said Faradayshield layer is separated from said gate electrode by an intermediateelectrically insulating layer that provides electrostatic dischargeprotection to said vertical field effect transistor.
 20. The device ofclaim 19, wherein the intermediate electrically insulating layercomprises a plurality of regions of different electrically insulatingmaterials having different breakdown voltage characteristics.
 21. Thedevice of claim 17, wherein said Faraday shield layer is separated fromsaid gate electrode by an intermediate electrically insulating layerthat provides electrostatic discharge protection to said vertical fieldeffect transistor; and wherein said gate electrode, the intermediateelectrically insulating layer and said Faraday shield layer collectivelyform a metal oxide varistor.
 22. The device of claim 21, wherein saidintermediate electrically insulating layer comprises zinc oxide.
 23. Thedevice of claim 19, wherein said intermediate electrically insulatinglayer comprises intrinsic or P-type polycrystalline silicon; wherein thegate of said field effect transistor is separated from the activeportion of the semiconductor substrate by a gate oxide layer; andwherein a thickness and/or material characteristic of said intermediateelectrically insulating layer is such that its breakdown voltage is lessthan a breakdown voltage of the gate oxide layer.
 24. The device ofclaim 19, wherein said intermediate electrically insulating layercomprises zinc oxide.
 25. An integrated power device, comprising: aplurality of field effect transistor cells in an active portion of asemiconductor substrate; a Faraday shield layer extending on a portionof the semiconductor substrate that is located outside a perimeter ofthe active portion; a gate electrode that is electrically connected toeach gate of said plurality of field effect transistor cells and extendsoutside the perimeter of the active portion in a manner thatsubstantially confines it to within an outer perimeter of said Faradayshield layer; an intermediate electrically insulating layer disposedbetween said Faraday shield layer and said gate electrode; a gateelectrode strip line that extends on the semiconductor substrate and iselectrically connected at a first end to said gate electrode; a gate padthat is electrically connected to a second end of said gate electrodestrip line; and a source electrode that is electrically coupled to eachsource of said plurality of field effect transistors cells and to saidFaraday shield layer.
 26. The device of claim 25, wherein said Faradayshield layer extends between both said gate pad and gate electrode stripline and a drain of said plurality of field effect transistor cells. 27.The device of claim 26, wherein said intermediate electricallyinsulating layer provides electrostatic discharge protection to saidplurality of field effect transistor cells.
 28. The device of claim 27,wherein said intermediate electrically insulating layer comprises aplurality of regions of different electrically insulating materialshaving different breakdown voltage characteristics.
 29. The device ofclaim 27, wherein said gate electrode, said intermediate electricallyinsulating layer and said Faraday shield layer collectively form a metaloxide varistor.
 30. The device of claim 29, wherein said intermediateelectrically insulating layer comprises zinc oxide.
 31. The device ofclaim 27, wherein said intermediate electrically insulating layercomprises intrinsic or P-type polycrystalline silicon.
 32. The device ofclaim 27, wherein said plurality of field effect transistor cellscomprise vertical field effect transistor cells that extend betweenfirst and second opposing faces of the semiconductor substrate; andwherein said Faraday shield layer extends opposite the first face and isseparated therefrom by an underlying electrically insulating layer. 33.The device of claim 32, wherein no portion of said gate electrodeextends outside the outer perimeter of said Faraday shield layer.
 34. ARF power device, comprising: a vertical power device in an activeportion of a semiconductor substrate; a gate electrode that iselectrically connected to a gate of the vertical power device andextends outside a perimeter of the active portion; a gate electrodestrip line that extends on the semiconductor substrate and has a firstend electrically connected to said gate electrode; and a gate pad thatextends on the semiconductor substrate and is electrically connected toa second end of said gate electrode strip line.
 35. The device of claim34, further comprising a Faraday shield layer that extends between saidgate electrode strip line and the semiconductor substrate.
 36. Thedevice of claim 35, wherein said Faraday shield layer extends betweensaid gate electrode and the semiconductor substrate; and wherein saidgate electrode is patterned so that it is substantially confined withinan outer perimeter of said Faraday shield layer.
 37. The device of claim35, wherein the vertical power device is an insulated-gate field effecttransistor; and wherein said Faraday shield layer is electricallyconnected to a source of the insulated-gate field effect transistor. 38.The device of claim 37, further comprising an intermediate electricallyinsulating layer extending between said Faraday shield layer and saidgate electrode strip line; and wherein said intermediate electricallyinsulating layer provides electrostatic discharge protection to theinsulated-gate field effect transistor.
 39. The device of claim 34,further comprising a Faraday shield layer that extends between said gatepad and the semiconductor substrate and is electrically connected to aterminal of said vertical power device.
 40. The device of claim 39,further comprising an intermediate electrically insulating layerextending between said Faraday shield layer and said gate pad; andwherein said intermediate electrically insulating layer provideselectrostatic discharge protection to said vertical power device.
 41. AnRF power device, comprising: a field effect transistor in an activeportion of a semiconductor substrate; a gate electrode strip line thatis electrically connected at a first end to a gate of said field effecttransistor, a gate pad electrically connected to a second end of saidgate electrode strip line; and a Faraday shield layer extending betweenboth said gate electrode strip line and said gate pad and a drain ofsaid field effect transistor so that said gate electrode strip line andsaid gate pad are capacitively decoupled from the drain.
 42. The deviceof claim 41, wherein said Faraday shield layer is electrically connectedto a source of said field effect transistor.
 43. A semiconductorswitching device, comprising: a semiconductor substrate having a firstsurface thereon and a drift region of first conductivity type therein; aquad arrangement of trenches that extend into the first surface of saidsemiconductor substrate and define a drift region mesa therebetween; abase region of second conductivity type that extends into the driftregion and forms a first P-N rectifying junction therewith; a sourceregion of first conductivity type that extends into the base region andforms a second P-N rectifying junction therewith; a quad arrangement ofinsulated electrodes in said quad arrangement of trenches; an insulatedgate on the drift region mesa; and a source electrode that extends onthe first surface and is electrically connected to said source and baseregions and to said quad arrangement of insulated electrodes.
 44. Thedevice of claim 43, wherein said quad arrangement of trenches includes afirst pair of trenches at a front of the device and a second pair oftrenches at a rear of the device, when the device is viewed intransverse cross-section.
 45. The device of claim 44, wherein saidsource region extends along the first surface in a lengthwise directionfrom the front to the rear of the device without interruption by saidbase region.
 46. The device of claim 45, wherein said base regionextends along the first surface in the lengthwise direction from asidewall of a trench in the first pair to a sidewall of an opposingtrench in the second pair.
 47. The device of claim 46, wherein saidsource electrode ohmically contacts said source region and said baseregion along the first surface.
 48. The device of claim 44, wherein afirst distance between the first pair of trenches and the second pair oftrenches equals a width of the drift region mesa as measured between thefirst pair of trenches.
 49. The device of claim 48, wherein said sourceregion extends along the first surface in a lengthwise direction fromthe front to the rear of the device without interruption by said baseregion.
 50. The device of claim 49, wherein said base region extendsalong the first surface in the lengthwise direction from a sidewall of atrench in the first pair to a sidewall of an opposing trench in thesecond pair.
 51. The device of claim 50, wherein said source electrodeohmically contacts said source region and said base region along thefirst surface.
 52. A semiconductor switching device, comprising: asemiconductor substrate having a first surface thereon and a driftregion of first conductivity type therein; a quad arrangement oftrenches that extend into the first surface of said semiconductorsubstrate and define a drift region mesa therebetween; a base region ofsecond conductivity type that extends into the drift region and forms afirst P-N rectifying junction therewith; a source region of firstconductivity type that extends into the base region and forms a secondP-N rectifying junction therewith; a quad arrangement of insulatedelectrodes in said quad arrangement of trenches; an insulated gateelectrode on the first surface; a Faraday shield layer that extends onthe first surface and surrounds said quad arrangement of trenches; asource electrode that extends on the first surface and is electricallyconnected to said source and base regions, said quad arrangement ofinsulated electrodes and said Faraday shield layer.
 53. The device ofclaim 52, further comprising: a gate electrode strip line on saidFaraday shield layer; and an intermediate electrically insulating layerextending between said Faraday shield layer and said gate electrodestrip line.
 54. The device of claim 53, wherein said intermediateelectrically insulating layer provides electrostatic dischargeprotection to the device.
 55. A packaged power device, comprising: anelectrically conductive flange having a slot therein; an electricallyconductive substrate mounted within the slot; a dielectric layer on saidelectrically conductive substrate; a gate electrode strip line that ispatterned on said dielectric layer and extends opposite the electricallyconductive substrate; and a vertical power MOSFET having a sourceelectrically coupled and mounted to a first portion of said flangelocated outside the slot and a gate electrode electrically coupled andmounted to a first end of said gate electrode strip line.
 56. The deviceof claim 55, further comprising: a drain terminal mounted to said flangeand electrically coupled to a drain of said vertical power device; and agate terminal mounted to said flange and electrically coupled to saidgate electrode strip line.
 57. The device of claim 56, furthercomprising a gate metal strap that electrically connects said gateterminal to a second end of said gate electrode strip line.
 58. Thedevice of claim 55, wherein the source of said vertical power MOSFET iselectrically connected to the first portion of the flange by a firstsolder bond; and wherein the gate electrode is electrically connected tothe first end of said gate electrode strip line by a second solder bond.59. The device of claim 55, wherein said electrically conductivesubstrate comprises a semiconductor substrate that is electricallyconnected to said flange.
 60. The device of claim 59, further comprisinga polysilicon capacitor electrode that is electrically connected to saidgate electrode strip line.
 61. The device of claim 60, wherein saidpolysilicon capacitor electrode, said dielectric layer and saidsemiconductor substrate collectively form a MOS capacitor.
 62. Apackaged power transistor, comprising: an electrically conductive flangehaving a slot therein; a ceramic substrate mounted within the slot; agate electrode strip line that is patterned on said ceramic substrateand extends opposite a bottom of the slot; and a vertical power MOSFEThaving a source electrically coupled and mounted to a first portion ofsaid flange located outside the slot and a gate electrode electricallycoupled and mounted to a first end of said gate electrode strip line.63. A packaged power transistor device, comprising: an electricallyconductive flange having a slot therein; an integrated circuit substratemounted to a bottom of the slot, said integrated circuit substratecomprising a semiconductor layer that is electrically coupled to saidflange, a dielectric layer on the semiconductor layer and a gateinterconnect on the dielectric layer, said gate interconnect comprisinga gate electrode strip line or a gate metal strap; and a vertical powerMOSFET having a source electrically coupled and mounted to a firstportion of said flange located outside the slot and a gate electrodeelectrically coupled and mounted to the gate interconnect.
 64. A powerdevice, comprising: an electrically conductive plate; a ceramicinsulating layer on a surface of said electrically conductive plate; agate electrode strip line extending on said ceramic insulating layer andopposite said electrically conductive plate; and a vertical power MOSFEThaving a source electrode electrically coupled to said electricallyconductive plate and a gate electrode electrically coupled to an end ofsaid gate electrode strip line.
 65. The device of claim 64, wherein saidsource electrode is electrically coupled to said electrically conductiveplate by a first solder bond; and wherein said gate electrode iselectrically coupled to an end of said gate electrode strip line by asecond solder bond.
 66. The device of claim 64, wherein a width of saidgate electrode strip line is less than about 0.2 times a width of saidceramic insulating layer when viewed in transverse cross-section. 67.The device of claim 65, wherein a thickness of the first solder bond isgreater than a thickness of the second solder bond.
 68. A power device,comprising: a device package comprising gate and drain terminals and anelectrically conductive flange that operates as a source terminal; anelectrically conductive plate mounted to the electrically conductiveflange; a ceramic insulating layer on a surface of said electricallyconductive plate; a gate electrode strip line extending on said ceramicinsulating layer and opposite said electrically conductive plate; avertical power MOSFET having a source electrode electrically coupled tosaid electrically conductive plate and a gate electrode electricallycoupled to a first end of said gate electrode strip line; a firstelectrical connector mounted to the drain terminal of said devicepackage and a drain electrode of said vertical power MOSFET; and asecond electrical connector mounted to the gate terminal of said devicepackage and a second end of said gate electrode strip line.
 69. Avertical power device, comprising: a semiconductor substrate having adrift region of first conductivity type therein extending adjacent afirst face thereof; first and second stripe-shaped trenches that extendin parallel and in a first direction across said semiconductorsubstrate; first and second insulated electrodes in the first and secondstripe-shaped trenches, respectively; first and second base regions ofsecond conductivity type that each extend from a sidewall of said firststripe-shaped trench to an opposing sidewall of said secondstripe-shaped trench and define a respective P-N junction with the driftregion; first and second source regions of first conductivity type insaid first and second base regions, respectively; a source electrodethat extends on the first face and is electrically connected to saidfirst and second insulated electrodes and to said first and secondsource regions; and an insulated gate electrode that extends in a seconddirection across the first face of said semiconductor substrate that isorthogonal to the first direction.
 70. The device of claim 69, whereinsaid insulated gate electrode extends opposite said first and secondbase regions and the drift region; and wherein said insulated gateelectrode is patterned so that during forward on-state conduction,majority carriers provided by said first and second source regions flowacross said first and second base regions in a direction parallel tosaid first and second stripe-shaped trenches.
 71. A UMOSFET, comprising:a semiconductor substrate having a drift region of first conductivitytype therein; a first stripe-shaped trench in said semiconductorsubstrate; an insulated gate electrode in said first stripe-shapedtrench; a second stripe-shaped trench that extends in said semiconductorsubstrate in a direction parallel to said first stripe-shaped trench; aninsulated source electrode in said second stripe-shaped trench; a baseregion of second conductivity type that extends in the drift region andbetween opposing sidewalls of said first and second stripe-shapedtrenches; a source region of first conductivity type in said baseregion; and a source electrode that extends on said semiconductorsubstrate and is electrically connected to said source region and tosaid insulated source electrode.
 72. The UMOSFET of claim 71, wherein adepth of said second stripe-shaped trench is greater than a depth ofsaid first stripe-shaped trench.
 73. The UMOSFET of claim 72, furthercomprising a third stripe-shaped trench that extends in saidsemiconductor substrate in a direction parallel to said secondstripe-shaped trench; wherein said first stripe-shaped trench extendsbetween said second and third stripe-shaped trenches; and wherein adepth of said third stripe-shaped trench equals the depth of the secondstripe-shaped trench.
 74. A UMOSFET, comprising: a semiconductorsubstrate having a drift region of first conductivity type therein;first and second trenches that extend in said semiconductor substrateand define a drift region mesa therebetween; first and second insulatedsource electrodes in said first and second trenches, respectively; and aUMOSFET comprising a third trench that is shallower than said first andsecond trenches, in the drift region mesa.
 75. The UMOSFET of claim 74,further comprising a first base shielding region of second conductivitytype that forms a non-rectifying junction with a base region of saidUMOSFET and a rectifying junction with the drift region and extendsadjacent a first sidewall of said first trench.
 76. The UMOSFET of claim75, wherein said first base shielding region is self-aligned with thefirst sidewall of said first trench.
 77. The UMOSFET of claim 74,further comprising a transition region of first conductivity type thatforms a rectifying junction with a base region of said UMOSFET and anon-rectifying junction with the drift region.
 78. The UMOSFET of claim75, further comprising a transition region of first conductivity typethat forms a rectifying junction with a base region of said UMOSFET anda non-rectifying junction with the drift region.
 79. The UMOSFET ofclaim 76, further comprising a transition region of first conductivitytype that forms a rectifying junction with a base region of said UMOSFETand a non-rectifying junction with the drift region.
 80. A method offorming a vertical power device, comprising the steps of: forming firstand second deep trenches in a semiconductor substrate having a driftregion of first conductivity type therein that extends into a mesadefined between first and second opposing sidewalls of the first andsecond deep trenches, respectively; forming a UMOSFET in the mesa; andforming first and second base shielding regions of second conductivitytype that extend into the mesa and are self-aligned with the first andsecond opposing sidewalls.
 81. The method of claim 80, furthercomprising the step of forming a transition region of first conductivitytype that extends between the drift region and a base region of secondconductivity type within the UMOSFET.
 82. A method of forming a verticalMOSFET, comprising the steps of: implanting base region dopants ofsecond conductivity type into an active portion of a semiconductorsubstrate having a drift region of first conductivity type therein;forming a first mask having openings therein on the active portion ofthe semiconductor substrate; implanting shielding region dopants ofsecond conductivity type into the active portion of the substrate, usingthe first mask as an implant mask; driving-in the implanted base andshielding region dopants to define a base region and a plurality of baseshielding regions that extend laterally underneath the first mask andvertically through the base region and into the drift region; etchingfirst and second deep trenches into the semiconductor substrate todefine a drift region mesa therebetween, using the first mask as anetching mask; forming first and second insulated source electrodes inthe first and second trenches, respectively; implanting source regiondopants of first conductivity type into the drift region mesa;driving-in the implanted source region dopants to define a source regionin the base region; forming a shallow trench that extends in the driftregion mesa and has a sidewall extending adjacent the base and sourceregions; forming an insulated gate electrode in the shallow trench; andforming a source electrode that electrically connects the first andsecond insulated source electrodes, the source region and the baseregion together.
 83. A method of forming a vertical power device,comprising the steps of: forming first and second deep trenches in asemiconductor substrate having a drift region of first conductivity typetherein that extends into a mesa defined between first and secondopposing sidewalls of the first and second deep trenches, respectively;and forming a UMOSFET in the mesa.